The Gator oscillator

The Gator oscillator is very similar to the Alligator indicator in that it helps detect trend changes in an asset's price. The main difference between the two is that while the Alligator uses moving average lines, the Gator uses a histogram.

The Gator indicator is based on the principle that trends – just like a living (alli)gator – go through four different phases:

Sleeping (exhausted)

Awakening (forming)

Eating (strengthening)

Sated (running out of momentum)

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Green bars indicate strengthening of a trend, red bars weakening

The Gator oscillator appears in a separate box underneath the asset's price chart as a histogram made up of green and red bars. Each time period is represented by two bars, one on top of the other. Sometimes they are both green, sometimes both red and sometimes they are both colours.

A green bar indicates that a trend is stronger than previous price action, while a red bar indicates it is weaker than previous price action.

The image below shows how the Gator oscillator appears on a chart:

A green bar indicates that a trend is becoming stronger than previous price action, while a red bar indicates it is becoming weaker.

The gator's four phases

The following shows you each of the four phases:

Sleep phase

During the Gator sleeps phase, both bars are red.

The chart below shows this in action:

The Gator sleeps phase

Awakening phase

The Gator awakens phase follows the Gator sleeps phase and can be recognised when one of the red bars turns green. It does not matter whether the red or green bar is above or below the zero line, as long as there is one of each.

The chart below shows this in action:

Eating phase

During the Gator eats phase, both bars turn green again.

The chart below shows this in action:

Sated phase

The Gator's sated phase follows the Gator eats phase and occurs when one of the green bars turns red. Again, it does not matter whether the green or red bar is above or below zero, as long as there is one of each.

The chart below shows this in action:

Enter trades as Gator awakens

When using the Gator oscillator, you will typically look to enter a position during its awakening phase, hold it through the eating phase and then look to exit your position and take profit during the sated phase as the trend nears completion.

As the Gator oscillator is based on a system of moving averages, be aware that there may be a time lag between price changes and the indicator moving into its various phases.

Also, note that the Gator oscillator only tells you how strong or weak a trend is. It does not tell you in which direction prices are likely to move. It should therefore be combined with other indicators or a set of rules to determine which direction the trend is in.

Enter trades during a trend's awakening phase, hold them through the eating phase and exit them during the sated phase.

Best used on medium to higher time frames

The Gator oscillator works well in all market conditions as it is designed to identify each phase of the market's cycles.

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